Last Man To Walk On The Moon Gene Cernan Dead At 82

Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon, is dead at the age of 82. There is a lot of mystery around what Cernan did on the moon.

According to Fox News, details of Cernan's death were not immediately known. Cernan was the commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. To date, this is the last manned lunar mission, and Cernan has the title of being the last human being to set foot on the surface of the moon.

His words may not be as famous as Neil Armstrong's first sentence spoken from the moon, however, Cernan's goodbye to the moon should be remembered:

"...America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow," Cernan said. "And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus- Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."

Rumor has it, before Cernan left the moon, he carved his 9-year-old daughter’s initials TDC (Teresa “Tracy” Dawn Cernan) on the surface. Is this true? Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean weighs in:

Cernan became the second American to walk in space on the Gemini IX mission in 1966. On the Apollo 10 flight, Cernan and Commander Tom Stafford flew to within eight miles of the surface of the moon. The May mission served as a "dress rehearsal" for the historic Apollo 11 mission two months later.

Cernan logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which 73 hours were spent on the surface of the moon, according to NASA. According to Fox, Cernan's death leaves six astronauts remaining who have walked on the moon.

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